THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (Pigen med nålen)(Denmark/Sweden/Poland 2024) ****
Directed by Magnus von Horn
Premiering at Cannes this year followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is an excellent historical drama though q very depressing one. The film is shot in black and white with a setting in post-WWII Denmark made even more depressing by the story in which bleakness piles upon bleakness. If one can stomach the bleakness, a superbly crafted film is in for the taking, though definitely not of a feel-good nature. The film is based on true life events - that of a baby killer, one of Denmark’s most infamous killers. A woman pretends to take in babies from mothers who seek a better life for their babies, but the woman kills babies instead using several methods.
The protagonist is Karoline, a young woman trying to survive after the war. Vic Carmen Sonne is remarkable in her portrayal of Karoline, a young seamstress trying to survive on her own since her husband was declared missing in action. Fortune smiles upon her when she develops a connection with Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup), the owner of the factory where she works. Yet a cascade of misfortunes soon reminds her of how little protection she actually enjoys. As the film progresses, one can only pity Katroline as things get from worse to worse.. Can things improve even a little? Firstly when the film begins, Karoline is evicted from her squalor apartment. She finds lodging in an even more horrid room with no running water and a window that cannot be opened. She is warned not to have any visitors though one can only imagine who would want to visit such a place.
Her woes improve a bit as the events set her on the path toward Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a shop owner she works for as a seamstress, who offers a particular service to women in need. The dynamic they form will have major repercussions for them both. They fall in love and she is impregnated by him. Just as one can think the film is leading towards the kindness of human beings, Dagmar’s mother stops the romance between her son and her and tosses her out on the street. She takes a needle to a public bath and tries to abort the unborn child, hence the title of the film THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE. There she meets the baby killer and things do NOT get any better. Karolyn and the baby killer strike up a camaraderie, even when Karolyn discovers the truth. More of the darkness is included with the reappearance of Karolyn’s supposedly husband missing in war with a disfigured face. Why he has not responded to her letters is not really explained in the film. The ugliness of his facial injury is not hidden from the audience.
For all its bleakness and depression, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is a compelling film with strong performances and stunning cinematography and production values, marking it as one of my Top 10 films list of 2024.
THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, the Danish entry for Best International Feature for the upcoming Academy Awards opens in theatres on December the 6th, 2024.
